


Tell me about the rabbits

by jazzypizzaz



Category: Glee
Genre: Canon Death, Carnivorism, Food, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Rabbits, rip finn, veganism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-10
Updated: 2014-01-10
Packaged: 2018-01-08 06:11:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1129261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jazzypizzaz/pseuds/jazzypizzaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the memorial service, Rachel goes over to Bieste's for dinner.  Rachel is vegan; Bieste raises her own meat.  They talk about food, coffee, and Finn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tell me about the rabbits

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from John Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men".

“Thank you so much for having me over for dinner, Coach Bieste, I really appreciate it.” 

Rachel stops at the entrance to the kitchen, smooths down her skirt, and glances around at Bieste’s house. Amidst the assorted taxidermied animal carcasses-- including squirrels and what looks to be a badger-- the walls are covered with plaques of thanks from various high school football teams. 

“Oh punkin, it was no problem at all. Have a seat.” Bieste pulls out a lopsided wooden chair at the kitchen table, and Rachel sits down primly, readjusting it so she doesn't have to stare at the dead badger.

“I love my dads, but I can tell they just don’t know what to do, how to handle me. They’re walking on tiptoes, they keep avoiding ever mentioning Finn, and it just feels claustrophobic.”

“I could tell you needed a sanctuary, hun. Just let me serve you up some of my famous pot pie. There’s nothing like home cooking to fill the gaps inside, is there?” Bieste squeezes Rachel’s shoulder with her hand comfortingly then starts busying herself gathering plates and food.

“Oh! I didn’t know you made a vegan pot pie! You’ll have to give me the recipe.” Rachel says, brightening.

Bieste, her back to Rachel and one hand holding a giant frozen pie, sets the oven to preheat. “Vegan? Is that one of them fancy New York diets?”

Rachel raises both eyebrows in surprise and clasps her hands in her lap tightly. “No… it means I don’t eat dead animals?”

Bieste drops the pie on the counter and whips around. “What, like you only eat fish? Uhhh I might have some canned sardines in the pantry instead, but are you sure you don’t want some of my pie? It’s real good, promise.” Bieste starts rooting through her cupboard, not waiting for an answer.

“No! No, sorry but I don’t eat anything made by animal slavery-- you know: milk, eggs, cheese…”

Bieste stops her search and considers this. “You just eat nuts and berries and twigs then?”

“More like vegetables and soy products and beans.”

“Hmph.” Bieste purses her lips, “Hmph, well I don’t know if I have any of that. I’m a big ole carb-and-carnivore mah’self, gotta keep my strength up.”

“I’m so sorry, I thought you knew when you invited me over. Here, would you mind if I looked through your cupboards? I can probably find something suitable…” Rachel stands up and opens the fridge. “Oh wow! Look at all these veggies, you have a whole shelf full! I could make a vegan feast, big enough to satiate even your appetite.” 

Rachel pulls a giant bag of kale out of the fridge, triumphant with her find. Then, realizing what she just said, she droops and starts babbling worriedly.

“Oh well… Uhh I didn’t mean that you are uhh fa-- I mean big-boned-- I mean--” Rachel says, then regains resolve. “Well, you know a vegan diet is much better for your health overall, better for your cholesterol, better for your blood pressure, less saturated fat, all while supporting a cruelty-free world and with the bonus of uhh slimming one down--” 

Bieste listens intently until in a flash her face brightens with realization, and she burst out with a chortle.

“Honeybear! Oh darlin’ took me a while to cotton on to what you were trying to skirt around saying there, but don’t you worry about me a lick. Doctor says I’m stronger than an ox! I’m a football coach, hun, I can’t afford to be slimming down none. It’s a mite harder to intimidate the boys through red lipstick alone, I gotta have my bulk 'n' brawn too.”

“Oh… oh ok. Well if you had some olive oil and maybe some lentils I could still make a hearty soup just so you could see how easy and tasty a meal can be without killing innocent creatures--”

“You mean you want to eat the kale? Hun, that’s rabbit food there.”

“...rabbit food? Then why do you have--”

“For my rabbit hutch o’course!”

Rachel looks at her blankly. 

“They’re a great source of lean protein, easy to raise, and my donkey Khloe got lonely after I sold Kim, so I reckoned a rabbit hutch would kill two pigs with one knife,” Bieste says proudly. “That ain’t people food you’re holding there-- they sold it to me at the pet store ya know-- but if you want to cook it up, knock yourself out. I’ll just heat up the pie, in any case, and maybe the smell will change your mind.”

“You mean, the pie…?”

“Yep! Homemade rabbit pot pie! Thought up the recipe myself, and it’s some damn good eatin’, you’ll see-- you won’t want to bother with the leaves and roots after tasting it.”

Rachel, a bit green around the gills, begins rooting around for additional soup ingredients, stubbornly trucking on with cooking a vegan meal for the both of them. They fall into a tense, awkward silence as they both prepare their respective dishes, each trying to prove a point about their diet. 

After the pie is in the oven with the timer on, Rachel is still chopping, so Bieste stands silently next to her, shifting her weight from foot to foot, twisting her mouth as she tries to think of a way to break the silence.

“I could scare up some coffee if you’d like? Pretty sure that’s vay-gan-- just made o’ roasted beans, right? But I suppose sugar, no cream.”

Rachel, silent with her mouth tense, continues chopping as she nods. Bieste watches her for a moment, then finds the coffee and starts spooning it into a filter. Rachel dumps the chopped vegetables into a pot, and as she looks up she catches her eye on a particular plaque hanging under a photograph of a particular football team. Among all the other players’ scowling faces-- each looking like he’s trying to scare off an enemy team with just a glance-- one particular boy stands out to Rachel: his grin is hesitant but warm, like he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to pose tough or not.

“He always made the best meat substitute,” Rachel breaks the silence and Bieste watches her as Rachel stares at the photograph. “He would burn his own cheese sandwiches, but he always made the best vegan meals for me.” Rachel smiles with eyes watery and continues, “I didn’t keep vegan in New York mostly… Trying to cook my own dinner usually ended up in flames, so Kurt and I ordered a lot of pizza the first month… but now I just-- Finn made the best meat substitute, and I just-- I can’t bring myself to--”

She wipes her eyes on the back of her hand, her other arm curled around her middle. Bieste opens her mouth, then closes it, and messes with the coffee machine while periodically glancing back at Rachel.

Rachel gives a wet giggle through the tears. “It’s silly, I know it is-- he could put away one of Breadstix’s heart attack burgers without blinking and still have room for a chili cheese fries and a slice of cheesecake-- but I just feel like, like--” 

Rachel stops restraining herself and starts crying, the sobs convulsing her small frame. “He was the most gentle man I ever knew-- and now-- now he’s gone-- and it just seems like there’s too much DEATH in the world already-- and I know not eating animals won’t bring him back-- and it doesn't make sense at all, logically-- but-- Oh god, I’m sorry I thought I would be fine--” 

She slides down to the floor, tears streaming down her face as she holds herself.

Bieste glances at the photo of Finn and the football team, pours two cups of coffee, and slides down next to Rachel. Rachel smiles apologetically, wiping her eyes and trying to regain composure before taking the offered cup. She doesn’t drink it, instead holding it close, comforted by the warmth.

Bieste clears her throat, tentative. “Finn would come into the teacher’s lounge every day, and pour himself a giant cup o’ coffee, sip at it, then spit the whole mess into the sink. He kept trying different combinations of milk and sugar, and still he would spit it out. But every day he tried again.” 

Rachel smiles fondly and cocks her head, not sure where Bieste’s train of thought is going. 

Bieste smiles back and continues. “Hope you don’t mind me saying: he honestly didn’t have much natural talent in a physical manner-- a bit gangly, constantly trippin’ over his feet like a basset hound stepping on its own ears-- but that boy was all heart. Never had a football player who tried harder to understand each the other players-- what made them tick, how to motivate them into position. He may not have gotten his football scholarship, but he was a quarterback, through-and-through. And that coffee-- he wanted to be an adult so bad, and he tried so hard every day to be wise enough to guide those kids, even when he felt like he didn’t know what he was doing. Finn would have made a great teacher, and it kills me that I won’t get to see that one day.”

Bieste puts her arm around Rachel’s shoulders, drawing her close and gives her a squeeze. “Now this is your sanctuary for the evening, hun. We can keep talking about Finn if you’d like, or I can distract you with a story about how Khloe reacted when she first met my rabbits. Or, if you want to cook rabbit food and cry on the floor-- if that helps, then you go right ahead. I’ll even eat a bowl, just for you.” 

Rachel laughs wetly, drinks a sip of the coffee, and stands up. “I think your pie’s almost done, Coach, you wouldn’t want to overcook it. My soup just needs to boil and it’ll be ready. So let’s eat, and then I want to meet your rabbits. I’m sure you take good care of them.”

**Author's Note:**

> A vegan diet, if done right, can be quite healthy. There are even vegan weightlifters larger and stronger than Bieste! There are also "junkfood vegans" that are unhealthy. Similarly, diets with meat can be healthy or unhealthy. I am not judging either character for their choice of food-- I've always felt that what you decide to put in your body is a personal choice.


End file.
